


45 Extra Days With You

by granger_witch



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Himym inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-30 19:03:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20102116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/granger_witch/pseuds/granger_witch
Summary: Before Steve set-off to Vormir, he needed to do one more thing due to the uncertainty.





	45 Extra Days With You

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my attempt to create a short Romanogers one-shot of what could've happened when Steve was returning the stones. I actually have a version of this on Tumblr from a few months ago, but I decided to post one here and brush up a few things from it. This is inspired by Ted Mosby's '45 days' speech from HIMYM. I hope you guys enjoy! Please leave comments as I would greatly appreciate them.

The time stone was returned to the ancient one. The mind stone is back on the scepter. The reality stone was given back to Frigga in Asgard. The power stone was returned to its appropriate place moments before Peter Quill arrived. The space stone was returned to the SHIELD Headquarters in the seventies. All but one stone is returned to its original place. There was only one more place to go, and Steve had that reserved last. Vormir. 

There was uncertainty on whether Steve would be able to bring Natasha back or not, but he had to try. All those eleven years of friendship, nine years of partnership, two years on the run, and five years of sometimes being alone at the facility meant a lot to Steve. The only regret he had was not spending enough time with Natasha. It was the most selfish decision Steve had ever made, but he was willing to do whatever it takes to have at least one final moment with his right partner. Requesting Scott to ask Hank Pym for extra Pym particles was the wildest idea he had ever done, but Hank knew how losing a loved one felt, so he willingly gave extra Pym particles to Steve when Scott explained the situation.

Instead of moving on to his last location, Steve went on a short side-trip. He travelled back to 2018. Whatever happened on the original timeline won’t change what will happen here. The beautiful field in the Netherlands had tulips all around, and Steve knew exactly when and where he was. He was forty-five days away from the Battle of Wakanda, and he, Sam and Natasha were in the middle of quaint field, laying low in a safe house. 

Night was almost falling and it was starting to drizzle. Steve sees his past self and Sam walk out of the safe house. If Steve remembered correctly, the pair were on their way out to get extra supplies and won’t be back till dark. With that, Steve approaches the safe house and knocks on the door. A shocked Natasha shows up, hugging herself due to the coldness of the air. 

“Steve, I thought?—“

“I went out to get supplies?” Steve finished for her. “Yeah, I did. But I’m not Steve. At least not the one that exists on this timeline.”

Natasha looked puzzled but kept her eyes on the man in front of her, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

Steve gave Natasha a genuine smile and took a deep breath. “I’m from an alternate timeline,” he simply said. “I can’t tell you on what happens there, but I did come here to tell you something.”

“Would you like to come in?” Natasha noticed that Steve was getting soaked. “I could make you some—“

Natasha was cut off by Steve, “It’s alright, Nat. I won’t take too long.”

“Oh. Okay,” Natasha nodded, looking pitifully at Steve because the drizzle had turned into pouring rain. “What was it you wanted to tell me?”

Steve kept his eyes on Natasha’s. She looked a lot different from her usual appearance. The once long, red, curly hair was now short and blonde, but her eyes that could tell you so much remained the same. “Forty-five days,” he simply said.

Natasha’s face was filled with confusing. “Excuse me?” she asks, hugging herself tight due to the piercing cold.

A silent pause filled the air for a short while before Steve continued. “Just please let me finish and hear me out,” Natasha hugged herself tighter. 

“Hi Nat. In exactly forty-five days from now something is gonna happen, and I can’t tell you what will happen.” Steve started off, not caring anymore about how drenched he was. “But gosh, I sure can tell you this…”

“If we skip to five years later, we end up being the only two people living in the facility. But I left… That was the biggest mistake I ever did, so I came back. I proposed we should both get a life, but you being the selfless person you are insisted I get one first. All of that is forty-five days away, but I’m here now I guess because… I want those extra forty-five days with you. I want each one of them because, I was blind… I always said that I was looking for the right partner, but the thing is… The right partner has always been beside me, and I never acknowledged that. When I said we both should get a life, I meant the both of us… Us together had always been a long dance, but I guess I just want to say thank you. Thank you because you’re you. Thank you because you stood by me despite everything. Thank you because, you are, without a doubt, the best thing that has ever happened to me. I never got to thank you for all of that.”

Natasha’s face was now tear-stained. The Black Widow was crying and Steve couldn’t help but feel a painful twitch in his heart. He continues to look at the former readhead straight into her eyes, “Look, and if I can’t have them, those extra forty-five days, I’ll take this moment before me from the present and Sam show up because… I love you. I’m always gonna love you, till the end of my days and beyond. I’m sorry if I never said it, but I really do. You are not my past, you are not what I wanted in the past, but you are my present, my future and my anchor.”

No verbal response came from Natasha, but her tears were enough confirmation from Steve that she understood what she heard from him. With this, he comes closer to her and gently wipes her tear-stained face with his fingers, and despite him being soaked from the rain, Natasha didn’t care. She hugged the man in front of her and crashed her lips onto his. The kiss was long, but chaste. It wasn’t like their first kiss together or those “accidental” ones they shared on the run. No. It was a kiss of fulfillment. It was a kiss that acknowledged the something, the elephant in the room, that they never dared to address. Once the kiss was over, Steve remained hugging Natasha.

“I love you, Nat. I love you so much. I will always love you,” Steve whispered.

“I love you too, Steve.” Natasha whispered back. “I will always love you.”

The two pull apart from their hug, but before Steve took off to return the soul stone he wanted to savor one last moment with Natasha. Using his right hand, Steve gently tucks her hair behind her ear rests it on her cheek, Natasha’s head following through. Both didn’t want to let go of this moment, but even as silent as they were, Natasha understood that Steve had to leave. The two hold hands and lock eyes for what seemed like a lifetime, and when Steve began to walk away, Natasha’s eyes remain on him and only him. 

Steve sets his coordinates for Vormir. “I’ll see you in a minute,” he says with a smile on his face.

“I’m counting on it, soldier.” Natasha begins to hug herself once more.

“Me too,” before he set off he takes one more good look at the woman in front of him, “besides… Where else am I gonna get a view like this?”

There’s uncertainty about Natasha’s return, but at least he got to savor this one, last, moment with her.


End file.
